Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Air might be slimmer than initially rumored. All reports suggested the phone could have a 6mm thin waistline.
However, a reputed Apple analyst believes the iPhone 17 Air will measure just 5.5mm at its thinnest point.
A 5.5mm-thin iPhone?
This year, Apple is preparing to rejig its iPhone lineup by dropping the ‘Plus’ model. Instead, it will seemingly introduce the iPhone 17 Air, which will stand out for its super-slim and sleek design. The company likely hopes to bring slim phones back into fashion with the Air.
Like the iPad Air, the iPhone 17 Air will focus on form factor and slimness over features and functionality. As part of this, the phone will supposedly make several compromises, including featuring a single 48MP rear camera.
All rumors so far suggested the iPhone 17 Air could be just 6mm thin, making it the company’s thinnest iPhone ever.
In a Medium post, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims the iPhone 17 Air may be even thinner. The thinnest part of the device could measure 5.5mm. For comparison, the M4 iPad Pro — Apple’s thinnest device yet — is just 5.3mm thin.
iPhone 17 Air’s missing SIM card slot may pose a problem
A potential side effect of the iPhone 17 Air’s slim design is that it might lack a physical SIM card slot. This should not be an issue in the US, where iPhones only ship with eSIM support. However, in China and other markets, this can pose problems, as eSIM adoption is still not as widespread.
Kuo believes this might hamper the demand for the iPhone 17 Air in China unless Apple makes some design changes. This is also why all iPhones Apple currently sells in China feature a dual SIM card slot.
He believes Apple’s slim new iPhone will ship in higher volumes than its Plus models. But it won’t bring a notable boost to sagging iPhone sales.
For 2024, the analyst expects Apple to ship around 220 million iPhones and around 220-225 million units in 2025. This is notably lower than the market expectation of Apple shipping around 240 million iPhones this year.
